Mattel Inc., the world’s biggest toy company, is suing the author of early Masters of the Universe comic books to prevent him from asserting any ownership interest in the franchise starring He-Man.

The El Segundo-based toymaker filed suit on Friday in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles against Donald F. Glut, who has a long resume that includes writing for various TV series, videos and documentaries.

Since the early 1980s, Mattel has leveraged Masters of the Universe for toys and accessories, two animated TV series, consumer products, comic books and a feature-length film.

Mattel’s suit accuses Glut of a “baseless and time-barred attempt to grab a piece” of Masters of the Universe, but does not specify how he is pursuing this.

The toy giant says that it “developed, designed and sculpted” the initial action figures, including their environment, look, powers and character story lines.

Then, according to Mattel, Glut “briefly became involved” when the company commissioned him to create a back story for He-Man and other Masters of the Universe characters. Glut wrote four mini-comics with adventures of the characters, “all as works-for-hire for Mattel,” the suit says.

The company provided Glut with “precise” parameters for his work, including the length, number of text lines and text characters for each page of the mini-comics. Mattel says it paid Glut for his work under a work-for-hire agreement. Then the company released the initial toy line with the mini-comics Glut wrote.

Mattel says Glut was aware of the company’s exploitation of Masters of the Universe for more than three decades without claiming any ownership of the franchise.

The suit cited a 2001 interview in which Glut acknowledged that he worked for the company on a work-for-hire basis and therefore had no ownership or royalty interest in the franchise.

Reached by email, Glut, a resident of Los Angeles County, declined to comment and directed questions to a law firm representing him.

Mattel is asking the court to declare that Glut has no protected copyright interest in the work he performed on Masters of the Universe, and that any such claims by Glut are barred by the stature of limitations.